Background: Because of the increasing realization of the importance of optic nerve head perfusion in the pathogenesis of glaucoma, the influence of new antiglaucomatous drugs on ocular hemodynamic properties should be investigated.
Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 2 prostaglandin analogues, travoprost eye drops and latanoprost eye drops, on intraocular pressure (IOP) and pulsatile ocular blood flow (pOBF) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).
Methods: Previously untreated patients aged 40 to 60 years with POAG and normal brachial blood pressure (BBP), heart rate, body mass index, and hemorheologic findings were eligible for this randomized, double-masked study. Two drops of travoprost (group T) or latanoprost (group L) were self-administered in both eyes at 9:00 pm. In all patients, IOP, pOBF, BBP, and heart rate were measured at baseline and on days 15, 30, 60, 90, and 180 of treatment.
Results: Twenty-five consecutive patients with POAG were enrolled in this study conducted at the Glaucoma Research Center of the Department of Ophthalmology, Bari University, Policlinico di Bari (Bari, Italy). Of these, 7 were withdrawn because they did not return for the second appointment, leaving 18 patients (11 men, 7 women; mean [SD] age, 51.9 [5.5] years) to complete the study. In both groups, mean IOP values were significantly reduced at all time points compared with baseline (all P<0.01). Mean pOBF values increased ∼50% from baseline following treatment with either travoprost or latanoprost by day 15, were maintained at that level for 60 days, and then gradually decreased (group T: P = NS, NS, <0.01, <0.05, and <0.05 at days 15, 30, 60, 90, and 180, respectively, vs baseline; group L: P<0.01 at all time points vs baseline). All other parameters remained constant throughout the study. An early inverse correlation between IOP and pOBF was noted in group T but not in group L. No significant differences were found between groups in IOP or pOBF at any time point.
Conclusions: In this study population, pOBF was increased with travoprost and latanoprost in the short term, but this effect was kept constant only with travoprost. IOP was reduced with both drugs after short-term therapy, and this reduction was maintained in both groups. Travoprost may represent another option for the medical treatment of POAG.
Keywords: intraocular pressure; latanoprost; primary open-angle glaucoma; pulsatile ocular blood flow; travoprost.